HoldOn Bag Review

This compostable bags review is sponsored by HoldOn bags.

If you’ve had one of those weeks where you just want to know if compostable bags are right for you, the answer is YES – they’re for everyone.

And if you’re already sold, here are the ones I’m using… please use this code to save some money for the coffee it sounds like you (and I) need!

Code LUCI for 15% off orders over $45

But if you have some questions, a little time to devote to a nice conversation, or just want to understand better, I got you…

CONTENTS

Can I Use Compostable Bags?

A little background. You know I hate talking about plastic. I don’t like single-use plastic, but I equally don’t like getting into the weeds about it with people. Plastic is complicated; I get it!

So while I’m not vehemently anti-plastic, I highly discourage the use of single-use plastics. Besides water bottles, I find the biggest source of them in our daily lives, is bags – zip-top bags and trash bags (big and small). But like, life without those is a whole heck of a lot more difficult.

If you’ve been around me for more than about six minutes, you know I’m obsessed with reusable, silicone bags. They single-handedly let my family replace the plastic baggies (a big part of our kitchen plastic replacements), but trash bags (yes, single-use plastic ones) have been a mainstay in our home this whole time.

UNTIL NOW!!!

Compostable Bags for Food Waste

Sacramento County recently switched to collecting our food waste in our green waste bin – yep, the city is composting.

While we plan to continue using our electric composter, there are some food items we can’t put in the machine. There are also some days when we just have too much food for our little machine, so we’re absolutely taking advantage of the city’s organic waste collection.

On top of that, I needed an easy place to store food waste and many local friends were asking about how they were supposed to organize their food waste (yes, we organize our trash now!). And the answer, obviously, is compostable bags.

See many more sustainable kitchen products here!

Are Compostable Bags just for Compost?

Nope! Compostable bags are not just for compost.

So here’s the follow up to that initial question. Are compostable bags for you? Yes!

Though compostable bags are the only bag you can use for collecting food waste, they’re also a wonderful alternative to standard trash bags.

Instead of sending a piece of single-use plastic to the landfill every time your trash is collected, now you’re sending it all neatly in a bag that will break down in just a few weeks!

If you’re wondering about your recycling, I have the unfortunate responsibility of telling you that you’ll need to check locally.

After living in Sacramento for two years, we learned that we weren’t supposed to be using plastic bags around our recycling and they may have just been added to the trash pile. INSERT UGLY CRY HERE.

Since compostable and recyclable are far from the same thing, it’s probably best not to use any bag with your recycling. See more recycling basics here. But, again, check locally.

What are compostable bags made from?

Plastic, under no circumstance is compostable, biodegradable, or anything of the sort. Since we don’t want plastic going into compost (used at home and by the city to nourish plants and crops), an alternative is in order.

Enter: HoldOn. Available in small and standard trash bag sizes, you can have a compostable bag for any trash or composting bin in your home.

Code LUCI for 15% off orders over $45

Science time (info from their website)…

These bags are made from PBAT (a biodegradable polymer that requires less oil during production and breaks down quickly, without emitting methane), polylactic acid (monomer derived from organic, renewable source – requires less energy and emits less greenhouse gas), and cornstarch.

Ziploc Compostable Bags

And since we’re on the subject of bags, yes, HoldOn makes ziploc compostable bags (available in gallon and sandwich sizes).

These are the perfect replacement for your standard box of plastic bags – great for food and anything else life likes baggies for!

These bags also go by all the same guidelines – meaning they’ll break down sooner than the plastic counterpart, so keep an eye on them when using them to store food, but they’re up to the standard everyday use.

Cutting off the zip part will speed up the composting process!

Luci holding boxes of HoldOn Compostable Bags

Are these compostable bags for home compost?

Yes. So if you know even just a little bit about composting, you’ll know that municipal composting and home composting are NOT the same thing. Municipal composting can handle a lot more items than your typical backyard compost heap.

I’m happy to be able to tell you, however, that these HoldOn bags are fine for both types of composting.

HoldOn bags are TUV Certified Home Compostable and BPI Certified Industrially Compostable.

As Sacramento County is figuring out the organic waste collection, their site said we could only use bags that meet ASTM D6400 standards. Since I have no idea what any of these standards means, I asked HoldOn…

The BPI and TUV certifications are both more stringent than the ASTMD6400 requirements, so WE ARE GOOD! And you are too!

Code LUCI for 15% off orders over $45

How long Do Compostable Bags last?

Ok. So here’s something to remember. Compostable bags are designed to break down quickly (weeks in ideal conditions), so remember that the same bag can’t sit in your pail or can for months and weeks on end without starting to deteriorate. I mean, that’s why you wanted it in the first place, remember?

But, if you’re wondering if they’re durable enough to handle trash and food waste, so far, I’ve found them to be very durable and the feel a lot like a plastic trash bag!